DJ Bayan AmyAspen3 minutes to read
DeMeco Ryans names CJ Stroud the Texans their Week 1 starter
DeMeco Ryans breaks down the thought process for naming CJ Stroud as a starter.
“It was definitely a blessing, something I think I worked for and definitely got,” Stroud said. “At the same time, nothing really changes. I’m still going to work the same way I do but more now. I’m lucky enough to be a starter, very young in this league, which he isn’t.” “The easiest thing to do. But I know the coaches trust me, so I’ll go there and do my best.”
The Texans were the last team in the NFL to name their starting quarterback, but Ryans’ reasons for naming Stroud a rookie stemmed from what he’d seen since Stroud was drafted, as well as his desire to improve.
“It’s been over the whole process of OTAs, pre-season training camp games, just seeing the full product and knowing CJ wants to keep getting better,” Ryans said after the win.
The #2 pick started every preseason game and went 11 of 18 for 89 yards with one touchdown and one interception in eight series.
Stroud joins other rookie quarterbacks named to the top five in this year’s draft who also start Week 1 in Carolina Panthers’ Bryce Young and Indianapolis Colts’ Anthony Richardson.
Landing the starting role for Stroud was the expected outcome, as in most cases, quarterbacks who were drafted in the top five usually start the first week of their rookie season. Since the NFL’s 2011 collective bargaining agreement, 11 of the 17 quarterbacks named to the top five have started Week 1.
Stroud entered training camp in a quarterback rivalry against Davis Mills as they both split with the starting offense to start training camp.
But after a week of training, Stroud parted ways, and Ryans gave the rookie midfielder all first-team reps.
The Texans have finished 31st in QBR (33.3) the past two seasons and have gone 7-26-1. Conflicts on the field led them to select Stroud, hoping he would become the franchise quarterback they had been looking for since trading former quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Stroud will make his debut against the Ravens’ 2019 Player of the Year quarterback Lamar Jackson and a defense that is third in scoring (18.5 per game) in 2022.
Since 2011, the rookie quarterbacks have been placed in the top five and started week one going 4-6-1 with a 59% completion percentage, 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
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